5 things to know about the Highway 1 slide and road closure

Get an up-close look at the massive Hwy. 1 landslide in Big Sur

We traveled up Highway 1 in Big Sur on Wednesday, May 24, 2017, to get an up-close look at the massive Mud Creek Slide, about 9 miles north of the Monterey County/San Luis Obispo County line. What Caltrans had hoped would take weeks to fix will pr

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We traveled up Highway 1 in Big Sur on Wednesday, May 24, 2017, to get an up-close look at the massive Mud Creek Slide, about 9 miles north of the Monterey County/San Luis Obispo County line. What Caltrans had hoped would take weeks to fix will pr

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It’s been more than three decades since Mother Nature took such a massive toll on Highway 1 and reshaped an iconic stretch of California coastline.

Last week’s devastating Mud Creek Slide, about 9 miles north of the Monterey County line, is the latest setback in what’s now predicted to be a yearlong headache for Caltrans. Engineers are in the beginning stages of what is expected to be a lengthy and complex recovery process. It’s unclear when Highway 1 will fully reopen, or if more potential slides could be looming.

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A half-mile segment will remain closed for at least a year

Some of California’s most breathtaking coastal scenery will be off limits for “approximately one year, but perhaps longer,” according to Jim Shivers, a spokesman for Caltrans District 5.

Caltrans is facing a long timeline because not only will crews need to remove Mud Creek Slide’s million tons of rock and dirt from the roadway, they will need to repair Highway 1 itself. There’s also the added variable of next year’s winter rains, which could disrupt cleanup plans, Shivers said.

Crews are using drones and other tools to conduct “aerial reconnaissance” as they formulate a strategy for repairs.

“First, we have to make sure the site is safe enough for us to be present there,” Shivers said.

Highway 1 at Mud Creek in Big Sur remains closed as “significant” amounts of dirt and rock continue to slide down the slope from above. This video taken from a Monterey County Sheriff's Office airplane shows the massive slide, which "went from bad

The only access to a section of the famed Big Sur coast that’s stuck between two slides is via Nacimiento-Fergusson Road from Highway 101.

However, the three campgrounds in the cut-off area aren’t large: Corrales said Plaskett Creek has 44 spaces, Limekiln 27 and Kirk Creek, which she said is the most popular, 33. The cost for an overnight stay is $25.

Watch as crews bring down most of Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge in Big Sur on Saturday, March 18, 2017. The bridge cracked and shifted during recent winter storms and could not be repaired. This video was taken by Stan Russell, executive director of Big

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Post Ranch Inn remains open, accessible by helicopter

Post Ranch Inn is offering well-to-do visitors a personalized helicopter shuttle service called “Escape Through The Skies.”

Prices range from $4,300 to $13,500. Post Ranch Inn will transport two people via helicopter from the Del Monte Aviation’s tarmac at Monterey Regional Airport for two or more nights in May and June.

It’s part of a $1 billion problem (that’s a record)

“It’s one of a kind,” Susana Cruz, spokeswoman with the California Department of Transportation, told the Associated Press last week.

Though the excess rain and snow broke the state’s five-year drought, it also caused flooding, landslides and increased coastal erosion.

More than 400 sites have reportedly been damaged during the fiscal year that ends in June, according to the AP story. The $1 billion in highway damage is a significant increase from last year’s total of $660,000 million.